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The Rich and Their Fair Share?

Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, reports on a new report from the Congressional budget Office at the Foundation’s Tax Policy Blog. He writes:

“A new report by the Congressional Budget Office undermines President Obama's constant refrain that the "rich" are paying less than their share of federal taxes and that the middle class is over burdened. The report, Average Federal Tax Rates in 2007, shows that the wealthiest 20 percent of households earned 55.9 percent of all income but paid 86 percent of federal income taxes and 68.9 percent of all federal taxes.”

Hodge also points out that while the share of income earned by the top 1% of households has doubled, their share of income taxes paid grew even more. [see the Tax Foundation chart below] He writes:

“Since 1979, the top 1 percent's share of income has grown from 9.3 percent to 19.4 percent, more than double. However, their share of income taxes more than doubled, from 18.3 percent to 39.5 percent, while their share of the total tax burden almost doubled from 15.4 percent to 28.1 percent.”